Pixie Sticks
by Buffybot76
Summary: TIN MAN fic. DG discovers that pretty flowers can lead to a fate worse than death in the O.Z. Comedy ensues… CDG fic co-written with FeistyFox COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Pixie Sticks

**Authors:** Buffybot76 and FeistyFox  
**Characters/Pairing**: Cain, DG, Glitch, Raw and Toto, eventual Cain/DG

**Summary:** DG discovers that pretty flowers can lead to a fate worse than death in the O.Z. Comedy ensues…  
**Rating**: R to be safe  
**Disclaimer**: We don't own Tin Man. All the characters herein are owned by the SciFi network. We're just playing in their sandbox.  
**Word Count**: 1,712

**Author's Note 1**: Hi, everyone! Well, this is my very first Tin Man fic that I've co-written with FeistyFox, whom I met when I offered to beta her Cain/DG fic Path Less Chosen. We got along well and I had this idea but wasn't comfortable enough to write it on my own, so we decided to work on it together. I hope you all enjoy it so far. Next part will be up as soon as we're done writing it.

**Author's Note 2:** Hope everyone enjoys this one seeing as it was so much fun to write. Apparently Rose and I share half of the same brain so we had a good time. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Pixie Sticks!

- Part 1 -

It had started out as such a nice trip. All DG had wanted was a week for herself and her friends at Finaqua before she had to start running the country. Before Glitch got his brain - and possibly - his old personality restored, before Raw left and Cain went to visit with his son. But alas, things rarely went as planned. As it was, DG knew she was screwed the moment the sparkly cloud around her had dissipated enough so that she take in her surroundings.

"Oh, you have _got _to be _kidding _me!" she shouted in disbelief.

She was… tiny! All around her, shrubs towered above her like trees whereas only seconds before they'd barely reached her ankles. She could hear the sounds of her friend's thunderous voices shouting for her overhead. They were only a few feet away from where she'd been standing when she'd happened upon the unusual looking flower that had emitted the cloud resulting in her current predicament.

She _really_ needed to learn that looking was safer than touching in the O.Z.

"Well," the now five-inch tall DG shouted from somewhere amongst the exotic foliage, "Isn't this a happy development. Not!"

Cain, Glitch and Raw looked around themselves as they attempted to keep from stepping on the tiny princess.

"DG," Glitch called out as he made a tight circle while scouring the ground around his feet. "Where are you?"

"I'm over here," came the tiny response, accompanied by the sound of rusting grass.

"Just stay put and keep talking, kiddo," Cain added, his brow furrowed in worry. "We'll find you."

"'Stay put' he says," DG grumbled as she kicked the ground, annoyed, before yelling into the air. "Attention all ants and scorpions! If you're plannin' on havin' a royal smackdown, do it SOMEWHERE ELSE!" Rolling her eyes, she scanned the space above her, half expecting to see Glitch come into view wearing a bicycle helmet with an attached magnifying glass.

Gazing up from the grain of sand she had been pummeling she came face to face with a giant moist wall. _'What the hell?'_ was all she had time to think before it tried to inhale her.

"Whoa!" she shouted, clinging to the nearest blade of grass to keep from getting sucked into the dual portals of DOOM. "Toto, no! Bad dog! No sniffing the princess!"

Before the overeager vacuum could inhale her she found herself partially engulfed by a large blond colored paw. She was treated to a nice dose of vertigo as she was lifted up through the air at great speed, resulting in her losing her footing on Raw's uneven palm and landing hard on her back. That's when she felt something poking at her shoulder blades. Raw _really_ needed to lose the gloves big time.

When the wild ascent ceased, she was looking into Raw's kind, warm, - and at the moment – giant gaze. He appeared to be worried. To say this was _not _comforting would have been the understatement of the year. Hoisting herself up, she grabbed his thumb for balance but remained kneeling on his open palm. "Thanks, Raw."

"DG very tiny, but Raw still feel very strongly." The Viewer said this proudly and DG guessed it was a good thing. Before she could congratulate him, two more giants surrounded her. Glitch's nose was suddenly so close that she squawked and punched it with her tiny fist.

"Back off, Glitch! I'm going to get a phobia!" The poor man was so surprised; he tripped over backwards, hitting the ground. '_Great_,' she thought, now she was small andfelt bad. "Sorry!" She called to her fallen friend as she heard Cain's amused snort. The Tin Man leaned a bit closer to her, but made sure to stay out of her very short reach.

"How _do _you manage to get yourself into these situations, Princess?"

"What?!" She jumped to her feet and, stalking as close to Cain as she could on Raw's fingertips, started waving her arms about wildly. "Look at me, Cain! I don't even know what happened! I was just walking along, minding my own business when suddenly this flower _exploded _on me! Next thing I know, I'm in miniature! And… why do you always assume _I _did something? That's so unfair! I'm totally innocent here!"

By this time, Glitch had gotten back to his feet and was dusting himself off. "Well, technically, Doll, you did do something." He confessed, interrupting DG's tirade.

Why? Why would no one_ help_ her? The mini-Princess huffed as she crossed her arms and glared at the scientist. "What did I do, then?"

"Oh, you set off a pixie trap!" He stated happily.

"No freaking way! How can you tell?" DG exclaimed loudly, her arms falling limply to her sides before her face scrunched up in puzzlement. "Wait, pixies exist?"

All three men gave her the look she usually got when she'd said something completely Other Side-ish. Cain shot a glance at Raw and Glitch smiled brightly, delighted he had the answer to her questions.

"You have wings, of course!"

DG twisted her neck so fast it cracked. She sucked in a breath. Son of a… she _did _have wings! They strongly resembled dragonfly wings but were placed at a different angle on her back. They were classic, freaking fairy, wings! They were all shimmery and shiny. And worst of all, they were _pink_. For crying out loud, why pink of all things! She wailed in despair as she sat on Raw's fingers with a tiny thump, burying her face in her hands.

'_This is so fucked up.'_ She thought miserably.

Raw rumbled. "DG no be sad. Cain can fix."

Her head snapped up and she gazed adoringly at two giant, ice blue eyes, hope filling her chest. "Really? You can make me normal sized again!"

Cain's head reared back in sudden alarm. He looked as if Raw had just punched him in the gut. "What? I don't think so."

DG's heart sank again. She pushed her hair out of her face and her hands bumped her ears. Wait. She explored them more closely. They were delicately pointed. _'Oh, __**hell**__ no!'_ Well, she could safely say that she'd found something even more humiliating than being a princess. Being a pixie had that beat, hands down.

This was absolutely _horrid_ and definitely called for desperate measures. Crawling back up on her knees, DG put on her saddest, most pathetically hopeless expression and gazed at Cain. "Please, Mister Cain. I have pointy ears." She drew her hair back with one hand and pointed with the other. "Pointy! And pink wings? I haven't owned anything pink, in like, ever. Please fix me!"

Cain gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes. "I'm no magic user, Kid. Just what do you expect me to _do_?"

"Oh, well that's easy! You just have to..." Glitch's voice trailed off and a blank expression overcame his face. "Uh... well... hmm." Both Cain and Raw groaned as DG slapped a hand over her eyes in frustration. Toto whined. '_Damn,'_ he never should have let his guard down during lessons. They could really use him in human form at the moment but DG had accidentally hit him with that stasis spell and it would take days to wear off!

Cain tugged at the brim of his fedora, thinking. He gazed from the road to DG and then back down the road. He sighed. She thought he was being melodramatic. "Well, we might as well keep going while we try to figure this out. All we're doing is losing daylight."

With that he turned from her and started to walk off. Still on her knees in the 'you have got to help me' pose, she became indignant. He had totally just snubbed her in her most desperate hour. Dropping her hair back to cover her newly pointy ears, she leapt up. "Hey! Get back here this instant! Do you think I would just leave you if you were suddenly pixiefied?" Toto had started barking like mad and Glitch was making little happy noises. Cain had paused mid-stride to comment but stopped once he was facing her.

"What is it _now_?"

Raw rumbled contentedly behind her. "DG learn very fast. Flying already."

DG glanced down and realized with a gasp that she'd inadvertently taken flight and was now hovering at least five feet in the air. She panicked, and then fell with a screech. Luckily, she was snatched up before she could hit the ground. She gripped her warm safety net, refusing to let go or open her eyes.

She felt a large thin finger pat her head gently. "You should never question your rhythm, Doll." Glitch said, humming happily, the vibration of it running through her body. She cracked an eye open and whimpered when she found herself clinging to Glitch, her arms wrapped tightly around his wrist. Her feet were being supported by the last joints of his fingers while her cheek pressed against the base of his palm. Apparently her wings were like an anxiety meter because they were fluttering sporadically.

"This is so humiliating!" DG moaned pitifully as she released Glitch's wrist and crawled back up to her feet again.

With a sigh of exasperation Cain walked over to Glitch and held out his hand. "Give her to me. The last thing we need is for her to flutter off and get eaten by a mobat."

Carefully, Glitch passed the still grumbling DG over to the Tin Man. "Hey there is no way I'm letting you manhandle me all the way to Finaqua!" He glared down at her with icy eyes as if she were purposely making things more difficult. After a moment's thought he reached up to deposit her onto the brim of his hat.

Well, this was kinda cool. She felt like she was on a plateau. One that swayed a lot. But, hey, the view was pretty wicked. She thought she could enjoy this. "Just don't wander off up there, Princess." It was not a request. She crossed her arms and pouted at him before realizing the futility of the action, as he couldn't see her. She finally settled on kicking the brim of his hat.

Cain ignored her.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Oh, woe, the characters within this fic are not ours. No matter how much we wish it…

- Part 2 -

It was growing late in the day and they had been walking for hours. Well, the _guys _had been walking. DG was still sitting, cross–legged, on top of Cain's hat. She was so incredibly bored she felt she would almost rather be reading about Ozian history… almost. Deciding that she needed to stretch her legs a bit, the tiny princess climbed to her feet and started to walk leisurely around the brim of Cain's fedora.

"Settle down up there!" Cain's voice sounded deeper now that he was ten times bigger, at least to her.

"Ah, come on Cain, I'm bored!" She tried not to pout. She really did! "Nobody's even talking to me." It was not an exaggeration; the men seemed perfectly happy to walk in companionable silence. Didn't they understand she needed conversation? Maybe she just needed to rescue some random girl, that way she could have someone to chat with. Guys just didn't get it.

Glitch looked up at where she was peeking over the top of her perch and smiled cheerfully. "We might talk more if Cain stopped threatening to shoot us for making too much noise." Raw rumbled in confirmation.

"What?" DG peered over the brim, upside down, to glare the Tin Man in the eyes. "Cain, why must you constantly threaten them? It's not like they're the ones that frolic off into the woods. In fact, they tend to do exactly what you say, like, all the time. Which, is _why_ I am now boredand upside down, scolding you. You see how this is counter-productive to your peace of mind, yes?"

Cain glared up at her, cross-eyed. "Well, if you didn't run off all the time, perhaps I wouldn't have to threaten them so much. It seems to be the only way to keep you in line."

This logic was so convoluted she lost track of the conversation. "Wait. What?"

"Cain not know how to deal with DG, only Raw and Glitch. Not fair."

DG was just about to agree with the Viewer when, suddenly, the sky went dark above her. Pulling herself back up from where she'd still been hanging over the edge of Cain's hat, DG looked to the sky just as a shrill screech pierced the air.

"Holy shit!" DG screamed and crouched down quickly, curling up into a ball just as the sharp claws of a hawk swooped down, its talons just barely grazing her before the giant bird took to the air again. DG chanced a look up in time to see it circle around, clearly intending to come back for another try at its prey.

"Cain!" DG cried out hysterically. "Freaking big bird is trying to eat me!" She rolled to the edge of his hat to grab the side and swing toward his head. She fluttered her wings, banking on the fact that she had flown before and aimed for his ear. Whether by skill or luck, she managed to grab hold of it. It may have helped that Cain ducked at the same time she dodged. Whatever the reason, she had one hand gripped in his hair, one on his ear and both feet planted firmly on his shoulders. "What's wrong with you? Shoot it, _shoot it_!"

"I'm not going to shoot it, so stop shrieking in my ear," he snapped. "He's just looking for supper."

"Do I look like the main course to you?!"

Thoroughly fed up with her, Cain reached up and grabbed her none too gently. He brought her up to his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "If you had listened to me and stayed still, it wouldn't have seen you."

She began to splutter at him, but he moved a single finger up to cover her face from her eyes down. "Now, you're going to be quiet and stay where I put you until we get to camp or you're gonna wind up spending the rest of the trip under my hat. Are we clear, Princess?"

DG had an urge to bite him, but held it in check. Instead, she glared furiously at him, then looked confidently over at Glitch and Raw who had moved to stand next to her. They would _never _let Cain do such a horrid... The Tin Man pulled out his gun and pointed it in their general direction. They backed off, Glitch suddenly finding the trees to be the most fascinating thing he had ever seen and Raw looking at her pathetically. '_The cowards!'_

She moved her gaze back to Cain, weighing her options. She did _not _want to spend the next two days under a hat. Finally, her shoulders slumped, DG nodded reluctantly.

"Good," Cain nodded in approval before swiftly depositing DG in the breast pocket of his vest. "There, take a nap or something."

"Fine!" DG's voice was muffled by the fabric, but still audible. "Just don't get the urge say the pledge of allegiance or anything while I'm in here, okay?"

"I thought I said no talking? Would you prefer the hat?"

"Okay, okay! Shutting up now!" And with that, blessed silence once again fell upon the group.

It only took her ten minutes to get bored again and so, silently, she contemplated her options. Sadly, they were few and far between. Giving a sigh, she twisted around so that she could reach up and search for the pocket's seam. Once it had been located, she hauled herself up. This was definitely not as much fun as the hat. At least, up there, she'd had fresh air and leg room. In here, she felt cramped and sweaty and her _stupid _pink wings kept poking her in the back. How were you supposed to fold these things anyhow? She began to wriggle around, trying to get them comfortable.

She muttered under her breath but refrained from raising her voice. The last thing she wanted was for Cain to follow through with his threat and shove her under his damn hat. _'Damn it,'_ she thought irritably, when she felt a resistant tug on her wings. They were caught. She twisted her arm behind her trying to untangle the damn things and, in doing so, lost her footing and slid back down to the bottom of Cain's pocket.

"Oof!"

"What are you doing in there? I tell you you can't talk, so you decide to dance?" She couldn't see Cain, but he sounded angry.

She refused to tell him what happened. One, because it was embarrassing and, two, because he had told her not to talk. Oh, and three, because it would annoy him.

Seeing as she was right next to his chest, she both heard and felt Cain's annoyed growl. It rumbled through his torso and - inadvertently - through her. The resulting vibration had an interesting effect on her body, to say the least.

'_Whoa, baby!'_ she thought, caught by surprise.

"Oh, does DG have perfect rhythm as well?" she heard Glitch ask innocently and silently thanked God no one could see her face! She was pretty sure it was an even brighter shade of pink than her stupid wings.

She gave herself a moment to compose herself before attempting to stand again, to make sure her blush had completely faded. That actually took longer than it should have; she had a relapse when she realized how good Cain smelled. When she finally felt it was safe, she firmly grabbed the top of the pocket and wrenched herself up, ignoring the slight pain her wings caused her.

Once she reached the top, she peered around, noticing that Cain was staring resolutely forward. Craning her neck to the side, she saw that Glitch had picked up Toto and was excitedly showing the uninterested shifter a shrub. Then she spotted Raw… who was gazing at her with the most _knowing_ gaze she had ever been dealt. She reared back, the back of her head smacking into Cain's chest. Cain peered down at her sudden movement and she sank back down into the depths his pocket.

This was _so_ not cool.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Tin Man and its characters do not belong to us… cries

_**- Part 3 -**_

When the time finally came to make camp, DG could honestly say she couldn't have been happier. For one thing, it meant she would finally be able to escape the confines of Cain's pocket - not to mention the close proximity to the man himself - and second... she was freaking starving! She made this proclamation immediately after Cain had plucked her from his vest and sat her on top of a nearby boulder.

"Cain, I'm hungry! Feed me!" She started to jump up and down, waving her arms to get the Tin Man's attention as he went about setting up camp. "Hey, don't ignore me!" When it appeared that he was going to do just that, DG resorted to desperate measures. "Caaaain, I really have to pee, let me down off of here! Your pocket was sorely lacking in amenities!"

Cain's shoulders jerked and he glared at her over his shoulder. Turning to Raw, he jerked his thumb toward her. "Furball, take care of the Kid and don't let her wander off!"

"Grouch," DG grumbled before sticking her tongue out at him. "I don't need a chaperone to go pee. Just put me down, I can go on my own!"

"You can't even sit on a hat without a chaperone!" Cain snapped back.

Raw stepped between them quickly, picking the small princess up and walked a bit further into the trees. Once they were out of sight, he set her on some soft green moss at the base of a tree and went down on his knees to regard her. "DG always making trouble."

"Me?!" DG protested. "What about Cain? He's the one who's always picking on me!" She crossed her arms and tried to pretend that she was _not _sulking.

"How Cain shows he cares. Just ignores everyone else. DG should know this."

Her mouth dropped open. "But, Cain picks on everybody!" She was so not convinced by this argument.

"Who?" Raw challenged.

DG blinked. "Uh, well... me, you, Glitch, Jeb... sometimes Toto, and erm... ahhh..." Oh fuck all. He was right.

Raw grinned at her and purred in his rumbly way. "Now DG be nicer. Should tell Cain she sorry for being a pest. Be better for all of us." He paused. "Might be much better for DG." He said that last bit too smugly.

"Oh, okay," DG finally agreed, kicking at the ground with a tiny foot. She peeked up at Raw after a minute to find her large, empathic friend still there. "So, um... could you, you know..." she whistled softly while making a shooing motion with one hand, indicating he should go. She still had to pee, after all.

Raw's eyes grew wide as he caught on and had the decency to blush before turning around and returning to camp, leaving her alone. Which... in hindsight, might not have _really_ been the best choice.

Her first clue that she was being watched came when a prickly sensation began just below the nape of her neck and traveled down the length of her spine, sending her wings to flutter sporadically. She brushed it off, at first, to the simple oddity of actually having wings and continued to do her business. It wasn't until she had stood back up and redone the fastenings of her jeans that she heard the blood-chillingly, ominous hiss coming from behind her.

She froze, her eyes widening in terror, as the sound of something moving through the grass mixed with the hissing sound and that's when DG knew she was in trouble. She whirled around and, through the rustling grass, she spotted a number of molted brown scales moving toward her. She instantly bolted back toward the campsite, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Cain! Cain, help! Snake!"

DG's heart felt like it had leapt from her chest to her throat and her breathing grew harsh as she dashed madly through the tall blades of grass. Damn it! Why had Raw left her so far away from camp? To him, it had probably not seemed very far; but for her, the clearing seemed to be miles away. She chanced a glance behind her and quickly came to the realization that the snake was gaining. She knew she wasn't going to be able to outrun it, and, apparently, her voice was too small to be heard by the others from this far away. Suddenly, she tripped over something and her arms pin-wheeled as she tried to catch her balance. Her wings began to beat rapidly and the next thing DG knew, she'd taken flight, soaring into the air and, thankfully, out of the snake's reach.

So shocked by the sudden lack of ground beneath her feet, DG cursed. "Oh, shit, not again!" she shouted as higher she went. Glancing down, she saw the snake rearing up to watch its would-be meal escaping on the breeze. "Ha! Not so scary now, are ya, Mr. Sneaky Snake!" she crowed happily, punching the air in victory only to wind up sending her self head-over-feet with the momentum of the gesture.

"Whoa!" she squeaked as she somersaulted three times before she could right herself. When she looked back down at the ground, she could see the snake making its way in the opposite direction, having apparently given up on having a Pixie dinner. That's when she heard the sound of human feet approaching, accompanied by Cain's voice calling out for her. DG felt a mixture of relief and annoyance.

_**Now**__ he shows up?'_ she thought irritably.

For some reason, a strong desire to play a prank on the Tin Man overcame DG. She quickly located the nearest tree branch and carefully flittered over to land on it. The leaves were dense and hid her well and, when Cain finally appeared, she was slightly above his head and well out of his sight.

"DG?!?" Cain's voice had risen and he was starting to circle the area in distress.

Before he could get himself too worked up, she jumped out of the clump of leaves she had been using as her shelter and dive bombed his hat. Grabbing the front edge, she gripped it in both tiny hands and, using her downward momentum, yanked it down over his eyes.

Cursing like mad, he stumbled backward, arms flailing. She zoomed backward hovering and giggling like crazy. That had been _totally_ priceless!

He regained his footing after a close call with a downed branch and ripped the hat off his head. His eyes found her quickly enough and he stormed toward her.

"_**Shit**_!"

DG darted to the left, just in time to dodge the fedora that came swooping down to catch her. "Cain wait, I swear, it was just a joke! Not the hat!"

"Get back here, Princess!" he growled, swiping at her again, and, once again, she dodged effortlessly. She was beginning to really _like _these wings!

"I don't think so!" DG protested, flitting to hover a bit higher and perching her fists on her hips as she stared down at Cain. "You're going to do something mean! And I was going to, you know, make peace. Now, with the whole 'let's catch DG with the scary hat' thing, I think I've changed my mind!"

Cain stopped and glared at her a moment, his ice-blue eyes filled with impatience. "Well?" he prompted when she continued to simply hover a few feet above, and just out of, his reach.

She regarded him for a few more moments, to make sure the hat was no longer a threat, then she slowly flittered down until she was at eye-level with him. She nervously rubbed her foot on the back of her leg and sighed mournfully. "I'm sorry for being annoying. It's just that I don't like being tiny and I really don't like having pink wings! I only mess with you because, well... sometimes it makes you smile, and you never do that otherwise. But, if you want me to stop, I will."

She had never seen Cain visibly shocked before. His head reared back and he blinked at her. Something in his eyes flickered and the iciness that was usually so prominent in them vanished for a moment. He actually looked touched. She felt stupid for saying something so utterly ridiculous and turned her head away to gaze up at the trees. Suddenly, she felt his hand come gently underneath her and her knees folded at the sudden impact. Her wings stop beating and she turned back to him.

He was smiling softly at her. "That's all right, Kid. I reckon I wouldn't like to be stuck like that, either."

DG felt her heart race. What the hell was wrong with her? This was Cain, for Christ's sake! "So," she shook off the feeling and smiled back at him before flying up to perch herself on top of his head, "What's for dinner? I'm starved!"

Cain rolled his eyes. "Kid, what is it with you and my head?" he asked, clenching the fedora that was still in his hand. "Do I look like a transport service?"

DG grinned as she settled herself on top of Cain's head. "Nooo, but I don't have a horse. I always wanted one though. My Robo-rents never could afford one. Hey! Maybe Ahamo will let me get one! I could name him... ahhh… what's a good name for a horse, Cain?" She grabbed onto his hair for support when he shook his head and began to mutter. She ignored this. "Oh! Ajax for sure!"

"I'm not a horse either!" Cain objected, before a devious grin crept onto his lips. "Well, since you're sure that's where you wanna ride, then so be it." he said before plopping his hat back on. The muffled protests from DG made the smirk grow into a full-fledged grin. "Pipe down, Princess; we'll be back to camp in just a second."

Those few seconds were thoroughly uncomfortable for DG. She was jostled in the inky darkness that was the underside of Cain's hat. The third time she was thumped unceremoniously to her stomach, she decided to exact some revenge. Grabbing a fist full of hair, she jerked on it as hard as her tiny arms could. She was rewarded with a shout of indignation and felt herself flipped head over heels as Cain bent double and her body was thrown into the inside of his hat. He held the hat upside down in his hand like a bowl, glaring down at her.

"That was totally uncalled for, Princess." Setting the hat down on the ground he settled himself next to the campfire.

"Big ol' meanie," DG muttered to herself, but shot Cain an innocent grin when he turned back in her direction. He handed her a tiny piece of meat that he'd cooled for her. _'Well,'_ DG thought, the generous gesture causing her heart to do that ratta-tat-tat thing again. _'Maybe not so mean...'_ Taking the piece of meat, DG decided that she didn't want to get his hat all messy and so deployed her wings and flitted over to settle herself on Glitch's knee.

Glitch was so surprised he choked on his food. She craned her neck up, alarmed that he would need the Heimlich and she would be unable to help, but he managed to clear his windpipe on his own. Once he was breathing properly, she resituated herself and took a bite of her food.

"Oh, Doll, you found your rhythm! Maybe you just needed Cain to show you how!" He crowd happily.

She immediately spat out the bite food she had just taken. "What? Glitch, I don't need anyone to show me how to find my rhythm, let alone Cain! Cain would be like the last person I would associate with rhythm, alright?"

Everyone in camp turned to look at her. What? Her face turned red. Where they not talking about the same thing?

"Oh, nevermind!" she finally huffed, taking a bite of food again and trying very hard not to notice that from across the campfire, Cain was staring at her with a strange look on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Still not ours. Dammit!**

_**- Part 4 -**_

DG woke up the next morning, sprawled across Raw's chest; she had retreated there shortly after wolfing down her meal. The odd glances Cain kept shooting her were causing her to go into a state of near-violent paranoia. The worst part of it was that it was making her wings vibrate like wild. Damn the things! Everyone could tell she was disconcerted; at least Raw had the decency to keep her mostly concealed from Cain's oh-so-observant eyes.

She parted the coarse hair she was nestled in and peeked over to where the Tin Man had slept the night before. His blanket was empty and she perked up to quickly scan the clearing; Cain was nowhere to be seen. She spied Glitch, busily gathering things together, and decided it was time for her to get up as well. She fluttered her wings and lifted off of Raw to fly over to Glitch.

"Morning, Glitch," she greeted with a yawn and a stretch as she hovered in front of him.

"Good morning, Doll," Glitch replied with a bright grin as he stuffed some of their supplies into a satchel. "Did you rest well?"

"Oh, yeah," DG looked over her shoulder and smiled at the Viewer. "Thanks to Raw, he makes a comfortable bed."

"Excellent." Glitch sounded pleased at hearing this. He picked up a bucket of water that had been set aside to put out the campfire and proceeded to do just that.

Three things happened, in quick succession, after that.

First, a giant puff of smoke erupted from the now-hissing ashes, just as a light breeze blew through camp, sending said smoke right into DG's face.

Second, DG gasped in surprise and subsequently inhaled a good bit of the smoke. She coughed and flew back out of the way. Once she was out of the smoke, however, she felt an irritating tickle begin to build in her nose.

"Ah- ahhh- aaaaahhhh- CHOOOO!"

And third: Cain re-entered the camp, just in time to see DG fly across the clearing, leaving a stream of pink sparkles in her wake before smacking right into his chest. The impact caused a huge amount of the pink, sparkly dust to expand until it engulfed both miniature Princess and Tin Man.

When the sparkly dust settled, DG found herself sprawled, haphazardly, across Cain's chest. Normally, this would have caused her a great deal of embarrassment; but, at the moment, she was ecstatic to see that she was back to her normal size! She pushed herself up on his chest, straddling the Tin Man beneath her. She gave him a million-watt smile before lunging down and attacking him with a hug.

"You made me big again! Cain, I freaking _love_ you!"

Cain was frozen below her, but seeing as this was his normal reaction to hugs - unless almost certain death was involved - she paid him no mind. She simply began to hum with happiness. Then, he did something unexpected: Wrapping an arm tightly around her, he sat up, holding her close and tilting his body forward. What was he-? Then he tossed her unceremoniously to the ground next to him.

She lay on her back, half-stunned and gaping at him. Ok, so Cain was no hugger, but that was an overreaction! He staggered to his feet and turned his head to peer over his shoulder. Then she spotted them.

'_Mother Fucker!'_ Her gaze darted around the campsite. Nope, her eyes had not been playing tricks on her. She was still tiny. And now, so was Cain.

She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest as a look of pure horror stole over her face. As soon as Cain's mind caught up with the situation, he was going to _kill _her. She didn't even know what she had done. And how come he got _blue_ wings? How was that even fair? She could totally rock with blue wings, but nooooo…

Cain whipped around and gaped at her, his wings beginning to vibrate and buzz in an oddly disturbing manner. She began to slowly inch away from him, his blue eyes turning glacial as he stomped up to her. Glaring down, he hissed out: "What did you do!?"

Her mouth opened and closed several times and, unable to come up with a verbal response, she simply pointed at Glitch before jumping to her feet and flying off to hide behind Toto.

Glitch walked over to Cain and knelt down to examine the now-diminutive man. "Now, Cain, don't do anything rash!" he admonished, although his amusement was clearly evident as he was grinning like a loon.

At Glitch's happy and over-loud response, both Raw and Toto jerked awake in obvious alarm. Raw, because he could feel all the stress, anxiety and anger flying through the camp, and Toto, because DG had accidentally pulled his fur when she lunged behind him.

Despite being tiny, Cain's growl was just as fierce as it was when he was normal-sized. He marched closer to Glitch and glared up at him angrily. "Glitch, you'd best be telling me that there's a way to fix this whole thing _right_ now, or I swear to Ozma that I _will _shoot you." For emphasis, Cain pulled his revolver - that had just so happened to be pixie-sized along with him - and aimed it right between the former advisor's eyes.

At this point, DG dared to poke her head above Toto's back. Her transformed teacher heaved a rather large sigh for such a small dog before he got to his feet, knocking her to the ground in the process.

'_This is getting __**so**__ old,'_ she thought before he turned and grabbed her wings with his teeth. "Hey! Bad dog!" Her protests went unheeded as Toto walked over to the tiny Tin Man and dropped her at his feet. "Woof!" he barked bossily at them both and then went to sit next to the seer.

Cain returned his gun to its holster as he turned his glare from Glitch back to DG. "Well, Princess, are you happy now?" He sounded so angry that DG flinched in reaction to his words.

"No, why would I be happy? Who's going to shoot at the snakes now?"

Cain did a double take. "Snakes? What snakes?"

"Uhh... nevermind," she said quickly, realizing maybe it hadn't been a smart move to mention her previous brush with danger. "There were never any snakes. In fact, does the O.Z. even have snakes?"

"What do you mean? Of _course _it has snakes!" A thought occurred to Cain. "Wait, did you _see _a snake, DG?"

"Well, not in its entirety." Which was true; there was no way he could get her on that one.

Cain's temper was beyond repair at this point. None of them were safe, and it didn't matter that he was six inches tall. They were all gonna die. Jaw clenched, he spoke, slow and precise: "DG, when did you see a snake?"

DG sighed, her shoulders drooping in defeat. She might as well tell him, because he'd never leave it alone now that he was this wound up. "Earlier, when I went to... you know..." she gestured in the direction Raw had taken her the day before to do her business. "Well, I sorta got snuck up on."

Cain turned on Raw so fast she was surprised his head didn't spin off. "I told you not to leave her alone!"

"It wasn't his fault!" DG protested, rising to her feet to grab hold of Cain as he made as if to draw his gun again. "I told him to give me some privacy. Geez, Cain, what'd you expect him to do, watch?"

Raw looked at them sheepishly. "Raw sorry Cain. Felt for danger before leaving. Didn't feel any. Very sorry DG."

"It's alright, Raw, there's no need for you to apologize." She glared at Cain as she said the last part.

Cain obviously disagreed with this particular assessment of the situation; his eyes were sparking like mad. She really needed to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand.

"Okay," DG held up both hands in a peaceful gesture and turned to Cain. "Obviously, you're upset about this, Cain, and I understand. I'm in the same boat as you, remember?" She gestured down her body to emphasize her point. Cain's eyes followed the move, sweeping down her body and DG blushed, but continued on in spite of it. "We've just got to keep our heads until we figure out what to do to reverse it."

Cain was silent for a few moments, his head tilted down in a way that the brim of his hat shielded his eyes from her so that she couldn't see his expression.

Finally, he sighed heavily and looked back up at DG. "I'm sorry, Princess. You're right, we've got to stop this bickering and focus on fixing this thing." So saying, he turned his gaze onto Glitch, who had climbed to his feet through all the drama that had been taking place. "You," he said sternly, "You mentioned there was a way to fix this."

Glitch peered down at them from his impressive height. "Of course! It's very simple, actually, all you have to do is... all you have to do is... all you have to do is..." Raw got up from his seat against the tree and shook Glitch hard to stop his misfiring. Glitch smiled. "Oh, hello! Have we met? My name's..." He blinked, shaking his head. "I glitched again, didn't I?"

DG sighed softly. She hoped Cain didn't notice as she really didn't want him to worry any more than he already had. Instead, she plastered on a fake smile and turned her face up to Glitch and Raw. "Well, looks like you two are going to be our new beasts of burden. Who wants to carry the pretty pink princess?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Okay, so Jess and I were talking to the Sci-Fi executives the other day and they informed us that we have NO claim on Tin Man, or its characters, _whatsoever_… Naw! Really? Huh. Who'd a thunk it?

_**- Part 5 -**_

Cain stared at DG with a look somewhat akin to horror on his face. "I am _not_ letting the Furball carry me!" he growled.

"Okay, well then, Glitch can carry you," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. At this point, she didn't really care who carried who, as long as she was kept out of the reach of creepy-crawlies and dive-bombing predators from hell.

"The Headcase? Ha! I don't think so, Princess."

"Cain! Stop being such a grouch," DG chastised. "It's not gonna kill you to be carried. Look at it this way: at least you won't have to be carried around in a hat." She squeaked and darted into the air when Cain lunged for her. Much to her chagrin, Cain took to the sky after her. Well... at least, he _tried_ to.

**Thump.**

DG winced as she watched Cain's body impact the ground. The tiny Tin Man lay stunned for a moment before shaking it off and climbing back to his feet. He glared over his shoulder at his uncooperative wings. "What the hell's the matter with these things?!" As if in response, the delicate blue wings twitched slightly.

DG couldn't help but giggle, unfortunately, drawing Cain's attention back to her.

"You finding this funny, Kid?" His eyes narrowed and the blue wings began to vibrate, once more emitting that odd buzzing sound from before.

"Nooo..." DG said, shaking her head, then stopped, a small grin sneaking onto her face. "...Ok, well, maybe a little!"

Cain opened his mouth as if to argue the matter, then shut it, opened it again, before pressing his lips into a thin line. He looked down and pinching the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger, sighed deeply and shook his head.

He didn't say or do anything for a couple of minutes and DG began to worry. When his shoulders began to shake, she feared the worst. _'Oh, crap, he's lost it.'_ she thought anxiously. He had to be beyond mad at this point and would probably wind up shooting the lot of them any minute now. Although, she wondered what effect, if any, his gun would have on Glitch and Raw as tiny as it was.

DG flew down to land gently beside Cain and raised a hand, stopping just shy of laying it on his shoulders. They were convulsing a lot more and, unsure if it would be welcome, she wasn't quite brave enough to follow through with the gesture.

"Cain," she prompted timidly. "Are you okay?"

In the blink of an eye, Cain's hand shot out, grabbing DG's arm. The startled princess let out an undignified "Eep!" before she suddenly found herself in the arms of a hysterically-laughing Wyatt Cain.

DG stood, frozen, in Cain's arms; her eyes wide with shock and looking over his shoulder, where Glitch, Raw and Toto stood together, watching the whole thing.

'_Umm,'_ She patted the man on the back, hoping like hell that this was the proper response to the situation. His laughter, which didn't sound demented, was causing her body to shake nearly as much as his. After a few moments of this, she lost control. It was either the absurdity of the situation or the novelty of Cain's laughter, but something about this was just hilarious, and she started to laugh as well.

In a matter of moments, they were shaking so hard they couldn't support themselves and collapsed in a small, sparkling, tangled heap on the ground. Her eyes blurred with tears as Cain held her on his lap, their laughter slowly dissolving into strange hiccupping noises.

Reaching a hand up, Cain gently wiped the tears away from her eyes, still grinning. It was such an unusual expression for him that her breath caught for a moment.

His eyes flashed from gleeful to something else for an instant before he helped her back to her feet and turned back to their traveling companions, grin still firmly in place. Glitch and Raw were staring at Cain as if he had just sprouted another set of wings and Toto's head was tilted to the side in a classic doggie question pose.

"I refuse to be carried around like luggage," Cain informed the trio. "We're staying right here until she," he hitched his thumb over his shoulder at DG. "Can teach me to use these damn things."

"Come again?"

"You heard me, Princess. You're gonna teach me to fly, or else."

"Or else, what, you're going to buzz at me some more? Scary, Cain, way scary."

Cain leaned close to her, a smirk playing on his lips. "Or else, when we get back to Central City, I hand you over to Gulch myself."

DG blanched. No... Not after all they'd been through, after she'd confided in him. This had been _his_ plan, dammit! "You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Cain!"

"Your choice, Princess." Cain stood back and crossed his arms smugly.

She was never telling this man anything ever again. All she had wanted was to take a quick trip back to the Otherside to reclaim her motorcycle. Az had been more than happy to open a Travel Storm for her. It should have been a simple matter of her grabbing the bike and riding it back through the storm. But, once again, her Robo-rents failed to tell her a rather important detail about her life. Gulch, freaking _Gulch,_ the bane of her existence, had been sent with them to the Otherside as part of her protection.

When he saw the storm, he had jumped in after her and started chasing her across the meadow she and her precious bike had landed in. Completely freaked, she had abandoned her baby and fled when he started shouting about the safety of one of the Outer Zone's heirs. She ran flat out to Cain in a tizzy, babbling about crazy cops stealing her stuff.

Flabbergasted, Cain had left her with her sister and Raw under strict orders not to leave until he got back. When he'd returned at the first sunset, he'd had the strangest look on his face. He'd then told her firmly to sit down and stop fidgeting and that she was not going to get _anything_ back until she told him exactly why Elmer Gulch – who'd happened to have graduated Tin Man training with him - was out for her blood.

After her severe reaction to_ that_ news had passed, she'd managed to skip around the issue for well over an hour before Cain had threatened bodily harm. To her bike, not her. Az and Raw had left the room at some point, and, after much whining, she'd told him everything. He agreed to get her bike back if, and only if, she agreed to stay out of Gulch's way for the rest of her life. Considering she owed him a substantial amount of money, her decision was easy. Cain figured it would be best to high-tail it out of town for a few days, while Gulch readjusted to life in the O.Z.

"Ugh, this is so not fair!" DG whined. There was no other word for the way she sounded at that moment.

"You say that pretty often, Princess," Cain grinned, "Makes me wonder what your basis for comparison is..."

Bahhhh! He was a _pixie_, not the freaking _Goblin King_! How was it possible that straight-arrow Cain - who _always_ spoke his mind - was this sneaky and manipulative? He had so successfully blackmailed her. And she _knew_ it. She would rather teach a whole _legion_ of Cains to fly than face Gulch again.

DG stepped closer to Cain and pointed a finger to his chest.

"_You _are evil," she stated dramatically, before grinning brightly. "Ok, Fly Boy, you asked for it."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: This is getting a bit repetitive, isn't it? sighs Oh, well… still not ours!**

_**- Part 6 -**_

DG had decided to start small. Well, proportionally speaking. She crawled up on a stick that came up to her thighs and stood, balancing on it as she waited for Cain to join her. He just stared at her while their traveling companions started to make themselves comfortable back around the campsite. Raw, it seemed, decided he would rather be sleeping and curled up against the trunk of a tree. Glitch was watching them with wide-eyed excitement and Toto sneezed in annoyance.

"Well? What are you waiting for? You're the one who wanted to learn to fly. Get up here!" His staring was making her nervous.

Cain muttered under his breath before jumping up next to her. She looked at his wings, considering them. They looked the same as hers, so she hoped they worked the same, as well. Speaking of which... She turned her head to regard the pink monstrosities. How exactly _did_ they work? She hadn't thought about that before… they just had.

"Kid, you have no idea how you fly, do you?" Cain sounded unsurprised and her temper flared. Her wings began to flutter angrily, then, she had an idea.

Turning her nose up at him, she snipped. "Of course, I know how I fly; I just don't think you can handle it. Some things may just be out of your reach."

Cain's eyes narrowed, his wings beginning to vibrate softly. That just wasn't going to do it. She was going to have to get him way more pissed off than that. Good thing Cain-baiting was her new favorite hobby.

"I think I'm perfectly capable of learning anything you can, Princess," Cain stated, arms crossed confidently.

"Oh, I'm sure you are," DG teased some more, arching an eyebrow at him.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" His wings had started to buzz again, but still she didn't think it was enough.

"Geez, Cain, it's nothing personal. Some of us just have what Glitch likes to call..." She raised her hands, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "Rhythm."

"Are you saying I _don't_ have rhythm?!" He was indignant, his wings sounding like an angry wasp. She suppressed a grin and took a step back. He was hovering half an inch off the stick.

"I'm saying you don't even know what it is, Tin Man!"

He spluttered angrily, reaching out to grab her wrist. She floated up as imperceptibly as possible and he followed without realizing it. He opened his mouth to yell at her, but she cut him off with a cheeky grin. "Then again, I could be wrong. Looks like you got this flying thing down."

Glitch started clapping enthusiastically behind them. "Well done, Doll! That was marvelous. You had him flying in under five minutes!"

Cain's face went from angry to confused in five seconds flat. He looked at her, then down at the ground they were now a good foot above.

Then he dropped like a rock.

The real pity of it was, he still had a hold of her wrist.

Shrieking, she grabbed his arm with her remaining free hand and beat her wings like a wild woman. She managed to keep them both aloft for all of two seconds before her strength gave out. It wasn't like she was freaking Supergirl or anything. They both impacted the dirt hard, Cain flat of his back with DG landing on top of him.

From his position by the campfire, Glitch winced. "Oooh. That had to hurt."

DG used her arms to push herself up into a sitting position. "Good job," she wheezed, as she peered down at Cain. "You flew! If I had a gold star, I would _so _give it to you."

Cain grunted beneath her, but otherwise remained motionless. She hoped she hadn't crushed him to death. That would be fun to explain to Jeb. _'Sorry, hate to tell you this, but, when I was a pixie, I sorta fell on your dad and, gosh darn it, I just squished him.'_

A few seconds later she realized this was not the problem Cain was currently facing.

DG gasped sharply, her face turning bright red. _'Oh, my __**God**__! That had better not be what I think it is!'_

Just to test her theory, she shifted slightly, her hips rocking against his imperceptibly in the process.

His eyes snapped open and locked with hers, his tan skin flushed. Clenching his jaw, he grabbed her hips and sat up, pulling her ear to his mouth. His hat blocked their faces from Glitch's concerned gaze. "DG, do _not _move." His voice brooked no argument.

DG's face flushed deeper and her hands clutched onto Cain's shoulders when she felt his fingers dig into her hips in an almost desperate manner.

She sat, frozen, in his lap as she felt him take several deep, calming breaths below her. His hands slowly loosened their hold on her hips and, after several extremely long moments, he relaxed and moved her off of him. Standing, he left her sitting on the ground and walked off into the nearby trees.

DG sat on the ground, confused as hell and - she had to admit, if only to herself - a little turned on. "What the hell just happened?" she asked, turning to Glitch, who had come to kneel beside her. He offered her a finger and she grabbed onto it, allowing him to help her up. She noticed Toto had come to sit beside Glitch, his doggie eyes looking at her knowingly and she cursed beneath her breath. Damn the shape-shifter and his heightened sense of smell all to hell!

She heard Raw rumble from his place next to the tree. "DG need go talk to Cain." She jumped when he spoke, bouncing off Glitch's hand in surprise. He was supposed to be sleeping!

"Raw, don't _do_ that! You could scare a girl to death!"

Raw had the decency to give her a sheepish look, but he nodded all the same. DG sighed. She supposed he was right. Dammit. Oh, no, this wasn't going to be an uncomfortable conversation at _all_.

Squaring her shoulders, DG felt as if she were walking to her own execution as she followed the Tin Man's trail, leaving the others behind.

It took her a little while to find him, and when she finally did, DG almost did an about-face and ran the other way. Cain was sitting against a rock, one knee up, with his fedora pulled so far down she couldn't see his face. He had one hand resting on the hilt of his gun and the other gripping the fabric of his duster so hard his knuckles were turning white. She approached him slowly, thinking that sneaking up on him right now would not be the best idea at the moment.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, DG moved to stand in front of him. "Cain?" She wasn't sure he was even aware she was there, so she called softly, not wanting to startle him.

He didn't move, but she still heard his response. "Go back to camp, DG."

"Oh, come on, Cain. Don't be like this," she sighed wearily. Deciding that it would be best if she just came out and stated the obvious, she continued: "So, you, uh... got a little excited. Big deal, right? You're a guy! That's normal! Frankly, I'd be worried if you didn't. So, no worries, okay?"

He finally moved; his head came up and he searched her face. "No big deal," he deadpanned, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. Somehow, she felt she had blundered badly.

She bit her lip nervously. "Uh..."

His eyes went icy. "Tell me, DG, when _does _it become a big deal?"

The tone of his voice was so cold; she took an imperceptible step back. "I- I-I-I..." She stuttered; licked her lips before she could continue. "I-I don't know."

Moving faster than she could register, he leaned forward and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back down into his lap. He leaned in, dangerously close to her face, and stopped a hair's breath away from touching his lips to hers. Her eyes fluttered closed and she quivered in his arms. She felt the air around her face move when he started to talk to her. "Maybe you should think about that and get back to me, Princess."

Her eyes snapped open in shocked embarrassment as he leaned away from her, eyeing her coolly. Her jaw dropped.

How _dare _he tease her! What kind of twisted game was he trying to play with her mind! She couldn't handle this kind of stress. Here he was, a gorgeous hunk o' man, dangling himself in front of her like a carrot on a string. '_Bastard!'_

"Grrr!" She shot up from his lap, his arms falling away from her easily. He hadn't been holding her there at all, she noticed. Damn him! "Go to hell!" she spat before spinning on her heel and stalking back toward camp.

Just before she left the small clearing that Cain had claimed to brood in, she turned back to add: "Tell you what, _Wyatt_. How about _you_ tell _me_ when you're ready to admit that I just _might_ mean more to you than a pesky kid that constantly gets underfoot." She grinned smugly at his slightly shocked expression. "Let's see which one of us is really making a big deal out of this."

With that, she stalked away. _'Let the games begin, Tin Man.'_ She thought deviously.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Tin Man. **_

_**- Part 7 -**_

They were on the road again. DG was comfortably seated on Glitch's shoulder, leaning against the side of his neck, dozing. The advisor hummed happily as he walked, Raw beside him and Toto trailing behind them both. Cain was... keeping up, at least.

He had refused, point blank, to be carried by anything other than a horse. Since there were none to be found - and even if there had been, he most likely would have been swatted like a fly - he was forced to follow by air. That had been his original plan, at any rate. It, kind of, only worked half the time. He was alternately hopping and fluttering behind them, blue sparks trailing behind him.

At about the hundredth THUMP, followed consecutively by muttered curses, DG readjusted her position so that she was now lying on her stomach on Glitch's shoulder, facing backwards.

"Hey, Cain, looks like you're having a bit of trouble," she stated flatly, even though a grin was gradually sneaking onto her face.

Cain got to his feet with what dignity he could muster as he glared up at her relaxed position across the Zipperhead's shoulder. His jaw clenched, wings buzzing and he took flight again, saying nothing.

She noticed his sudden ability to defy gravity with interest. Her eyes darted to Glitch's neck, then back to the glaring Tin Man. Ohh, so _that's_ how it was going to be. Well, then, time to up the anti...

DG's smile turned mischievous as she scooted back around to sit up. She used a tiny hand to brush the thick, curly hair back from Glitch's ear and, leaning in, began to whisper to him. Glitch's step faltered a moment at whatever she said to him, then a deep chuckle erupted from the former advisor as he started back to walking.

She could hear Cain begin to mutter as he fluttered past them to hover next to Raw's head. This seemed to make the poor seer nervous. He began to eye the Tin Man, as if he expected Cain to explode in a shower of blue glitter. It almost made DG feel bad about what she was doing, almost. DG sighed and leaned against Glitch's neck again. This was almost _too_ fun.

Cain gritted his teeth as he continued to concentrate on staying aloft and not on an annoyingly snarky princess. Just what was she trying to pull, anyway, laying on Glitch like that? It was way too casual and not at all proper.

It was certainly not how a Princess should be behaving around a Headcase, even if he had been the Queen's top advisor. She should be wingless and clean and leaning against someone with a whole brain, who could protect her properly; someone who could put up with the damn pranks she pulled, all the time, to avoid the stress of having to suddenly learn to rule a kingdom; someone who could handle her without having their head explode; someone who loved her because she was DG, not a Princess. Someone like him.

That last thought sent him tumbling to the ground in shock.

The sudden impact with the ground did little to jolt his thoughts into order. Why was it that every woman he got involved with was as stubborn as a mule and as devious as a harpy?

He should've seen this coming. DG had more things in common with Adora than not. They, undoubtedly, would have gotten along famously. With this sudden realization, Cain groaned. He was doomed.

Closing his eyes, he thought: _'They might as well lock me back up in that damned suit.'_ He was no more in control of his life now than he had been then.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Raw's large, furry foot stop next to him. The Viewer bent over him, chuckling softly as Cain picked himself up, trying to ignore him. Paying no heed to the Tin Man - or his need for personal space - the seer leaned close and whispered quietly: "Cain felt like he been hit by Demilo's wagon. Think he never feel again? DG had Cain around pinky finger before even met Raw."

Cain sighed in defeat. If the Furball knew, how long would it be before DG figured it out? What if she already _had_? His deep seated paranoia started to set in and he twitched in reaction to the thought.

It was at that moment, he saw DG turn to look at him over her shoulder. Their eyes met for a brief moment before she turned back to Glitch... and proceeded to place a tender kiss on the man's pale cheek.

Glitch chuckled warmly again and murmured something to DG that was just beyond Cain's sense of hearing, causing the Tin Man to bristle indignantly. This was simply not acceptable!

His wings began to beat rapidly and he shot back into the air, nearly taking Raw's nose off on the way back up. He heard Raw sigh as he flittered ahead of the group to scout for danger. He wasn't going to contemplate what he was going to actually _do_ about any danger he might find, but he was going to find it first.

DG watched Cain fly ahead of them and, for a moment, a sad look crept into her eyes. She felt Glitch turn his head to regard her and she turned to meet his gaze.

"I know I only have half a brain, but I'm not sure your plan worked the way it was supposed to, Doll," he told her gently.

DG sighed, her wings drooping in disappointment. "Yeah, I think I might have gone a little _too_ far. But, Glitch, it's just so frustrating! Why can't he just tell me how he feels?"

Glitch sighed along with her, his own eyes turning to follow the tiny Tin Man as he continued to flit clumsily ahead of them. "Cain's a stubborn one, Deeg, I don't think you can crack him in one day."

Of course, she took this as a challenge.

"Well, what do you suggest I do? Drag him behind the nearest bush and jump him?" DG looked at Glitch. "Hell, I was practically straddling his lap an hour ago, and all he did was throw me off and walk away like he..." That devious smile was back in an instant.

At her sudden silence, Glitch glanced back over. Her eyes had glazed over and that smile was plastered over her face. "You know what? You are so right, Glitch."

"I am?" He sounded worried. People never said things like that to him.

"Uh-huh. He's one tough cookie." She nodded. "So, how far away are we from Finaqua?"

"Um, less than five hours, I think," Glitch replied. "We should be there by nightfall."

DG stretched her arms above her head and leaned back against his neck. "Alright, then, I'm going to take a nap while Cain wears himself out. Tell me when we get to the hedge maze."

Oh, this was the best idea she'd _ever_ had.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: We hereby state that Tin Man is not ours, and this disclaimer is here to back me up. It has proof!**

_**- Part 8 -**_

By the time the group had made it to the entrance of the hedge maze, the last sun was setting, just behind the horizon. Cain was hovering before the entrance, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up; for the life of him, he couldn't remember the way through the damn thing. He looked over his shoulder as the other's approached. When Glitch gently prodded DG awake, her body jerked in surprise and her wings vibrated as she slid forward, off his shoulder, with a startled curse.

"What the hell..." she cried out, catching herself halfway to the ground as her wings finally stopped her decent. She flew back up to hover in front of his face, glaring. "Glitch!"

Glitch gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, Doll."

She heard Cain chuckling behind her. How dare he make fun of her! It was her job to make fun of him; the tables were not allowed to be turned in such a manner. Time to put her plan into action.

Right before she darted off, she heard Raw's half-panicked shout. "DG no go alone!" But she was off, fully aware Cain would not leave her alone. Sure enough, she could hear the sound of buzzing wings in hot pursuit. DG grinned; Phase One was complete. Now, on to Phase Two.

"Kid, you get your tiny, pink wings back here, _right_ now!"

There was no way in hell she'd just done that. He had already chased her through this damned maze once; it was beyond his comprehension that he was doing it again. When he caught her, he was going to _kill_ her, or at least chain her to a very heavy pebble. He paused momentarily at a split in the maze. No, no, no! His head turned left, then right. Which way had she gone, damn it?! He saw pink sparks to the left and lunged after them.

He must have chased her around the damned green shrubs for twenty minutes; however, it only took him ten to realize that she was toying with him. Every time he lost sight of her, she would wait a few moments - until he got himself riled up - before beginning to taunt him with either sparks or giggles. Cain felt his rage slowly dissolve into something entirely different; he hadn't had a chase like this is some time. For the time being, he let her keep running_. 'She'll tire of this game soon enough,'_ he thought. The Princess was many things; but patient, she wasn't. Yes, he would bide his time, and then...

Then, _he_ was going to have some fun of his own.

He chased her around another corner before pausing in his pursuit; this seemed like a nice enough spot to wait. He heard her zip off and landed lightly on the dirt path before he stepped back into the shadows of one the hedges. He'd be able to see her easily when she came back. He smirked; he'd give her three minutes.

DG flew on for a couple more minutes before realizing she couldn't hear the buzz of Cain's wings behind her anymore. She came to a stop, hovering for a moment before shooting up above the top of the hedge maze. It was a tad too high for comfort, but she figured it was the best way to pinpoint exactly where the Tin Man was in the garden. When she couldn't see him anywhere, she began to worry.

"Where the hell is he?" she grumbled, swooping down and retracing the path she'd just taken. On and on she flew, but still, she couldn't see even a glimmer of blue wings in the growing darkness. "Cain! Cain, where are you? This isn't funny!" Panic was starting to creep into her voice.

She landed on the ground and walked around some more, calling Cain's name. Her heart began to beat faster as her voice echoed back to her in the darkness. To the right, a cricket chirped and she jumped. That was a damned big cricket! Shivering, she decided that maybe she was safer in the air. Unless, there were bats... she brushed that thought off immediately.

_'Get it together, Deeg,'_ she thought to herself. _'He's gotta be around here somewhere. He wouldn't just leave me alone; he's a freaking Tin Man for Christ's sake! Besides, he's sworn to protect me!' _

With a sprinkle of pink glitter, she was airborne again. She was just about to call Cain's name again when she saw a flash to her left. And then, something tackled her.

She hit the ground, screaming bloody murder and flailing. "Cain! Cain, help!"

He started laughing as soon as they hit the ground. That had been far too easy, though he could do without the screaming; it hurt his ears. "Calm down, DG!"

He watched as her eyes snapped open in shocked recognition, then narrow when she realized who had snared her. He had her pinned beneath him, legs around her waist, hands holding her wrists at her sides. She began to try to wiggle out from under him and he grunted when her pelvis pressed into his. Putting more of his weight onto her, he attempted to keep her still, afraid of what would happen if she continued to move. When her squirming intensified, he sucked in a breath as he felt his body beginning to respond.

Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.

"What in the hell were you thinking, scaring me like that, Wyatt Cain?!" she all but growled. "I'm going to kill you!" Her wings hummed beneath her, making her body vibrate.

"I was thinking it would be easier to have you come to me, Princess." He hoped that didn't sound strained. "You're the one who wanted to play hide and seek in the dark and magical maze!" He needed to focus on her voice; anything but her damned wiggling.

"Yeah, well, you asked for it!"

He glared down at her. "I did no such thing."

"Oh, come on, just admit it! You love chasing me around!" she shouted at him angrily, still squirming. "You _love_ fighting with me!" Twist. "You can't wait until I do something so utterly_ irresponsible_ that you have to drop everything to come and get me!" Buck. "Stop being so _damn_ stubborn!"

He kissed her. _'Well, at least it shut her up.' _

Her wiggling, on the other hand, seemed to intensify tenfold. Somehow, she managed to get one of her hands loose and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him against her lips much harder. He growled, low in his throat. Her nails raked through his short hair before digging into his nape and he couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips. That's when her tongue snuck inside to invite his to play.

The hand that had been left empty - thanks to her Houdini act - moved to stroke the side of her face tenderly before trailing down her neck to the gentle curve of her shoulder. Giving it a squeeze, he then continued down to brush the side of her breast through her top. She moaned deeply at the teasing touch and arched her back to give incentive for further exploration.

Cain changed his mind again; this was the best idea he'd had in ages. If this was the result of chasing the girl, then he could get to like running. She began to do the most interesting thing with one of his earlobes when he felt a sharp pain in his left side.

"Oaff!"

He rolled both of them over, shielding DG and drawing his pistol, ready to fight whatever creature had decided to try to eat them for dinner. His pulled the gun up when he saw Glitch, sprawled across the path in front of them. The headcase was lifting himself up and twisting his body to see what he had fallen over.

"Oh, _there_ you are! We've been worried," Glitch said happily, before a frown marred his face. "Cain, why are you on top of DG?"

Cain couldn't say anything; his brain was still processing the fact that Glitch was the same size as they were. Either that, or... wait. He quickly jumped to his feet and looked around. He peered down at a pouting DG, who seemed to have already figured out that they were normal-sized again. She glanced over at Glitch with annoyance.

"Stellar timing there, hot-shot," she grumbled at the zipperhead.

Glitch cringed back at the cold look Cain was shooting him. By this time, Raw and Toto had made it on the scene. DG gave a huff and picked herself up off of the ground.

Brushing herself off, she waved at the path in front of them off-handedly. "I thought we were going to Finaqua?" She breezed past the lot of them in a fit of pique. She was going to ignore Raw's knowing smile and Toto's little fuzzy, cocked head. She didn't care if everybody knew. That was fine; she just needed to get them to the palace; a place full of private rooms with lockable doors. This was an emergency.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: How many times do we have to explain?! We know Tin Man isn't ours, so stop pestering us! Stupid copyright people… mutters**

_**- Part 9 -**_

It took all of DG's self-control to not simply, flat out run out of the maze. No, that would have been way too obvious, even if everyone hadn't already known what had just happened. So, she decided on an easy lope, while having a random longing for those horrid pink wings. At least, then, she could have flown out; which would have been faster.

After what felt like a freaking eternity, with Cain close behind her and her not being able to touch him, she saw the end of the maze; she jumped in the air, happily. "WOOT! Finally!" She raced ahead to work off some of her manic energy and emerged from the maze well before the others. Once she saw what was waiting for her, however, she quickly wished she hadn't.

"About time you got here, your Highness," a voice came from the darkened gazebo, making DG jump in surprise. She let out a god-awful screech upon recognizing the voice and - after skidding to a halt - fell to the ground, scrabbling backward in alarm.

"Holy fuck!" she shouted in shock, a finger pointing accusingly at the shadowed figured, still standing in the gazebo's archway, just as Cain and Glitch burst through the entrance of the hedge maze. They took in the scene and reacted instantly; both racing past her and jumping into the darkened gazebo, taking her assumed attacker down instantly.

She heard a great deal of cursing, muffled thuds and one particularly interesting shout of "Damn it, Glitch. That was my eye!" before three figures fell out from under the gazebo's awning and into the bright moonlight.

She thought that, if they stayed like that, it would be a lovely piece of modern art; the three men were a jumble of tangled limbs, rumpled clothes and contorted expressions. Raw and Toto had come up next to her and stopped, in awe of the scene before them.

There was a moment's silence following the threesome's tumble from the gazebo, but it was soon shattered by the giggling of one thoroughly-amused Princess. Then, the shouting started:

"God _damn_ it, Wyatt Cain! Get the_ hell_ off of me!" Gulch was struggling to free himself from the pile.

Cain's retort was cut short as Glitch's fist suddenly came up, clocking him under the chin. The former advisor's leg swept out at the same moment and took Gulch's legs out from under him, causing the disgruntled policeman to, once more, tumble to the ground in a heap.

"Glitch, stop!" DG's shout managed to stop Glitch's unfortunate short circuit. He froze, leg out - in a stiff right angle at his side - as he prepared to inflict another roundhouse kick to the two men. He lowered his leg and shook his head. "Hello! My name's Glitch! Have we met... Oh, hello, Cain!"

Enraged, Gulch lunged upward at the suddenly-smiling lunatic who had bashed him into the ground, twice, in the span of thirty seconds. Fists flailing, old Elmer wasn't about to sit passively by, as he was schooled in the art of hand-to-hand combat. Before DG could shout out a warning to the cop - because, seriously, he had no idea how bad Glitch could mess him up - Cain grabbed a fistful of his collar and yanked him backward. He hit the the ground again with a grunt of pure frustration.

By this time, DG had climbed to her own feet and she walked over to the three men, Toto and Raw following behind her. Moving to Cain's side, she looked down at Gulch as he lay on his back, blinking up at the starry sky.

"Erm, Officer Gulch?" she began hesitantly; after all, she promised Cain she would stay away from him. This no longer seemed to be an option; after all, he had found her. "Why are you out here?"

Looking up at her from his prone position on the ground, he managed to snarl out. "I came here to return your damned motorcycle!"

DG suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of guilt over all the pranks she had pulled on the man over the years; that was just down right nice of him. Cain offered him a hand up and Gulch staggered to his feet. He gestured off to the side of the hedge maze and she spotted her bike, gleaming in the moonlight.

She jumped up and down excitedly before pouncing on the poor man, giving him a huge hug. "Thank you!" she cried happily.

The grumpy cop threw her off and snatched a ticket pad out of his back pocket. "I also came to give you a ticket for littering. You can't just leave motorcycles in the middle of fields without proper permits!"

"Wait... what?" DG's gratitude started to fade.

"And one for the destruction of private property," Gulch continued. "Did you even think about where you put that travel storm down?"

Her eye twitched and Cain was looking at his fellow Tin Man as if he had grown a second head. "And whose dog is that? He doesn't have a leash! Hefty fine, right there." Gulch dug a pen out of his coat and began to scribble furiously.

He ripped the ticket from the pad and shoved it into Raw's paw. He then turned to Glitch. "And you! You're lucky you're with the Tin Man! One ticket for public obscenity, your zipper's down man! Show a little common courtesy." Riiiip. "And another for assaulting an officer of the realm." Riiiip.

Gulch turned to Cain, who eyed him warily. "And you, Wyatt... Why, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd have to give one of my own a citation."

"Excuse me?" Cain's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. "What the hell for?"

Gulch was already scribbling as he muttered: "I can't let it slide, Wyatt, I'm sorry." He tore off the slip of paper and slapped it into Cain's hand. Cain looked at what was written before his jaw dropped in total astonishment. "Aiding and Abetting?" He read on, "Failure to maintain the peace?! Oh, come on!"

Gulch smirked. "Also, you forgot about carrying your weapon without a license. Now, you know better than that, Wyatt," he said, tucking his ticket pad back in his pants pocket as he stowed his pen away. "Now that I'm done here, I'm leaving. You people deserve each other; never seen such a disregard for authority in my life."

He brushed himself off and pushed between DG and Raw to get to the maze. Before he left, he turned back to her. "And don't think your mother isn't going to hear about your blatant disregard of Ozian law when I get back, missy. I swear, some things never change." With that, he disappeared into the darkness.

There was a bout of stunned silence following Gulch's departure, in which everyone looked around at each other, bewildered looks on their faces. "Umm..." DG raised her hands in a helpless gesture as she addressed nobody in particular. "What just happened?"

"Raw not own dog." He sounded depressed.

Glitch had reached up and was checking his zipper carefully. "It's only half-way undone! And that's all Cain's fault!"

"That son of a bitch," Cain half-muttered, half-growled, under his breath. "Is he always like that?"

"Pretty much, yeah," DG confirmed with a sigh.

Cain sighed and gave her an apologetic look. "Okay, I take it back. You may not have been exaggerating about him."

DG blew out a huge breath and waved her arms dramatically. "Thank you! Can we go inside now? Like, before he decides to come back and ticket us for loitering? Or for doing something, in public, that will make Glitch's zipper down Playhouse Disney-material." She aimed this last line in Wyatt Cain's direction.

He eyed her, slightly embarrassed, but jerked his head in approval of her plan.

DG smiled. "Great, let's go!" She grabbed her bike on the way up to the palace, crooning at it in a way that made the Tin Man jealous. She just batted her eyes at him and winked.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: We don't own Tin Man. All the characters herein are owned by the SciFi network. We're just playing in their sandbox.

_**- Part 10 -**_

By the time they reached the castle, Cain was beginning to wonder if the fairy dust had had an adverse effect on his good judgment; there was no way he had actually... well... _done _that to DG. She was happily skipping ahead of him, oblivious to the fact that she was slowly driving him insane. This was just not a good idea. Damn it, she was a _princess_; not some common, red-district harlot! He thought he might have a migraine.

When they walked through the main doors, the group was greeted by a few of the guards assigned to the palace. Glitch and Raw started clamoring about getting to the library to look up citation laws; they could try all they wanted, but Cain was fairly sure they weren't getting out of these damn things. Elmer had been particularly good in their law classes. As soon as DG turned her back to direct them, he used the skills he learned as a Tin Man to sneak around the nearest available corner and away from her. He had a feeling that, if she got too close again, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from ripping her clothes off.

Better to avoid the situation at all costs.

DG waited until Glitch, Raw and Toto rounded the corner at the end of the hall before turning around - fully prepared to jump her Tin Man's bones - only to find that she was alone in the palace hallway. "Where the hell-" She looked around to make sure, but Cain was nowhere in sight.

Huffing in disappointed anger, she marched down the hall in the only other direction the Tin Man could have gone; he couldn't have gotten far. She rounded the corner and came to a halt. "Oh, fucking hell!" she groaned, as she stared down the hallway. There was no way in hell there had been this many doors before; he could be behind any one of them!

Giving a resigned sigh, DG rolled her eyes as she marched over to the first door on the right of the corridor; she grasped the knob and gave it a twist before giving it a push. The door squeaked as it swung open and DG peered inside. Nope, not there.

Growling in frustration, she spun around and glared at the remaining thirty some-odd doors and sighed in exasperation. This could take a while.

Cain sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. At least the room he had chosen - he refused to admit that he was hiding - came with a large bathtub. All he needed was a long soak, to wash away the thoughts of DG. Shaking off his duster, he tossed it onto an overly-decorated chair as he moved to the bathroom.

He turned the taps and watched, somewhat mollified, as steaming water splashed into the bottom of the tub. Returning to the main room, he shrugged off his holster and tossed it - and his hat - on the bedside table. His eyes darted to the bed and he turned purposefully away from it, as inappropriate thoughts began to clamor for attention in his head. Instead, he sat in one of the plush chairs and removed his boots. He stood back up as thoughts of his earlier actions began to fill his mind.

He grumbled under his breath at his own cowardice and whipped around, practically ripping the buttons off his shirt in his frustration.

It was better this way... of course it was...he didn't need her... damn it; he was an idiot... a noble _idiot_.

DG was about halfway down the corridor when the sound of running water reached her ears. A gleeful smile crept onto her lips as she silently stalked up to the door the sound was coming from behind.

Cain was just about to remove his shirt when he heard the handle of his door jiggle. He lunged to the table, grabbing his gun from its holster and spinning around just in time to point his six-shooter at a triumphant-looking DG as she burst into his room.

"Whoa there, cowboy!" DG said, smiling smugly as she held up her hands in a classic hostage-style pose. "I surrender."

He lowered his gun more swiftly than he ever had before tossing it back on the table. "What do you think you're doing? You know better than to sneak up on me! I could've shot you!"

"Sorry," DG replied, though she didn't sound the least bit apologetic as she lowered her hands, as well as her gaze.

He felt bad; she'd made him feel bad. How did she _do _that? He sighed as his anger drained away. Walking around the bed slowly, he stopped a few feet from her. "Look, Kid, I didn't mean to yell. Just, knock next time."

"Umm... what?" Cain's brows furrowed at her response and he took a closer look at her face. Her eyes seemed to be glazed over as she stared... he followed the line of her gaze... at the bit of bared chest peeking out from his open shirt front. _'Damn!'_

He stepped back in alarm, but didn't make it very far; she had her arms around his neck in record time. When had she learned to move that fast? His hands grasped her waist as he lost his balance and his knees hit the back of the bed. They tumbled backward and, when they finally came to rest on the soft quilt, DG was lying across his chest with a huge grin on her face. He wasn't going to live past tonight.

He didn't move - just laid there, teeth clenched, as DG sat up. She tilted her head slightly, regarding him with a look that sent his blood racing through his veins. Her soft hands pressed against his chest lightly before sweeping the edges of his shirt completely open. Then, she leaned down and began peppering his skin with kisses and he groaned.

He finally moved - his hands leaving her waist; one running slowly up her side as the other moved down to caress one jean-clad thigh. She wasn't the only one that knew how to tease. His fingers brushed the side of her breast and she pressed her hips against his in encouragement. Cain thought his eyes might roll out of his head if she didn't stop doing that soon.

He growled as she kissed her way up from his chest, her tongue trailing along his collar bone before heading up the slope of his neck. Then, her lips were gone as she moved her head up so that she could look down at him. Her eyes were a stormy blue, but he saw the mischief gleaming in them. She leaned down, until she was a millimeter from touching her lips to his, in an eerie mirror-image of what he had done to her the day before. Before he could react, she murmured: "Cain, the water's still running."

"What water?" He was confused by the randomness of this comment; DG had brought the lake back during the search for the emerald, so of course the water was running. He honestly wasn't all that worried about it at the moment.

DG chuckled darkly. "Weren't you going to take a bath?"

Cain struggled to remember: Was he? All he could think about doing, at the moment, was to pull DG to him and kiss her until she felt just as muddled as he was. DG kissed him soundly on the lips - for far too brief a time - before she somehow slipped out of his grasp and all but skipped into the bathroom. He struggled to comprehend what had just happened; still on his back, Cain felt as if he'd been hit by a DG-sized tornado.

He heard the damn water shut off and cursed under his breath. Then, DG's voice called: "Cain, are you coming or not?" The sound of a zipper being undone, followed by denim being shucked, echoed in his ears; his eyes widened in realization of what DG had planned.

He weighed the pros and cons of the situation carefully, and – finding no cons – hoisted himself off the bed and tried not to run into the bathroom. He figured falling on the way there would not be very manly.

He made it to the bathroom doorway just in time for DG's shirt to smack him right in the face; he reached one hand up and pulled the piece of knitted cotton off his head and tossed it to the floor. His eyes flickered annoyance for the slightest of seconds before he took in the sight before him: DG stood beside the filled tub, completely naked, a lone finger crooked in his direction as she gave him a come hither look.

His annoyance vanished and he felt a slow smirk spread across his face. Letting his eyes run slowly up her form, he enjoyed the way the hardly-ever embarrassed princess began to fidget and flush. He took a step toward her, his hands coming up to the fastening of his pants and he reveled in the way her eyes honed in on this action. She watched intently, her little pink tongue darting out to run across her lips in such a way that had Cain groaning again.

The button on his pants popped open and he lowered the zipper. By this time, he was standing only inches away from DG. Her hands came up and pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms, forcing Cain's hands to abandon what they were currently doing so that she could slide the material off of him completely.

He cocked his head to the side and watched as DG took hold of the sides of his trousers, then looked up at him and winked sassily. _'What is she up to?'_ His eyes widened when she then proceeded to sink down onto her knees, taking his pants down the length of his legs as she went.

He felt a gust of tepid air caress his heated flesh as DG released him from the tight confines of his pants. He thought he heard her mutter something along the lines of: "Yep, Captain Tightpants it is," before he lost all thoughts whatsoever as he suddenly felt the most sensitive part of his body become encased in an incredible satin heat.

Through clenched teeth, a sharp hiss of breath escaped him as his hands shot down to entangle themselves in DG's dark hair. He tried his best not to pull hard, but then she moaned, her throat vibrating as she took him in further and he couldn't stop himself from tightening his hold, just a fraction more. She drew back then, her tongue swiping up the entire length of him before swirling around the tip and then he was plunged into the moist depths of heaven again. He felt his knees growing weaker and, when she began to apply just the right amount of suction to him, Cain knew he wouldn't last if he didn't stop her soon.

Pulling gently at the back of her neck, he urged her away from him. She complied with a small moan of protest before pulling back to look up at him. She saw how effected he was and she smirked at him before using her hands to guide his legs free of his last article of clothing, leaving him just as naked as she was. He drew her up then, into his arms and kissed her hard, his tongue snaking past her teeth to duel with her own.

DG's arms wrapped around Cain's neck and he dipped down as he slipped one arm behind her back and placed the other at the bend of her knees. He effortlessly picked her up without breaking the kiss and then, carefully, stepped over into the large tub. He set DG back onto her feet and together, they both sank down into the warm water. Cain sat normally, while DG straddled his thighs. She broke the kiss and moved to nibble at his earlobe.

"So," DG breathed as she traced the shell of Cain's ear with her tongue. "Is there any particular reason you decided to run away from me? I didn't realize I was that scary, Tin Man."

Cain's eyes fluttered closed for a moment. "Sweetheart, the way you attract trouble, anyone with half a brain would have the sense to run."

"And what exactly does that say about you?" DG smiled as she lowered her head to kiss the side of his neck.

Cain grinned. "Well, seeing as you've already turned me into a pixie, I think I'm safe for at least the next twelve hours."

Her head came up to regard him seriously. "Believe me, Cain; you are in _no_ way safe with me right now."

He raised an eyebrow, smirking as he leaned forward. "I think you're the one in trouble at the moment, Princess." he breathed against her lips.

He kissed her again; soft, tender, but none the less passionate. DG moaned as she felt one of his hands slip from her waist to slide below the waterline. It explored the outside of her thigh before slipping between them to dip a single digit inside of her. She gasped, breaking the kiss as her back arched when his thumb brushed the sensitive bundle of nerves just above.

"Oh, God!" DG gasped out, her hands coming up to clench Cain's shoulders as her hips rocked against the stimulus of his hand. His free hand rose to cup a breast, thumb teasing the hardened bud as he bent forward to take the other one into his mouth. Her hands instantly went from his shoulders to his hair, clasping him desperately to her as he began to suckle.

"Yes!" she hissed as she continued to ride his hand, feeling the inevitable tension beginning to mount deep within her.

Cain's mouth released her breast as he growled against her flesh: "Let go, DG."

And she did. Her body began to shake as waves of pleasure swept through her body. She keened sharply, curling into him and cradling his head to her chest as she rode out the tremors before finally slumping against him, sated. Coherent thought took its time returning to her as she slowly relaxed against him, regaining her breath.

"Yep, I'm petrified," she murmured against the top of his head, where her cheek rested against it. "You should scare me more often."

He sighed. Obviously he needed to try harder to make her speechless, although, he suspected he was close that last time.

DG sat up after a couple of minutes. "The water's getting cold." she commented, reaching for the bar of soap sitting on a dish at the side of the tub and a cloth. "I think we should continue this little party in a more comfortable area, don't you? Like, the bed?" she wet the cloth before applying the soap, rubbing it into a lather and then began to run it over Cain's shoulders, chest and stomach. Then, just for fun, she dipped further south.

He grunted in surprise, his hand shooting down to catch her wrist as she began to stroke him. "I think you're right, Princess." he replied gruffly, pulling her hand up and taking the cloth from her hand. "Let me just return the favor first."

DG sighed as he ran the soapy rag over her body, then they both rinsed the suds away and stood up. As they stepped out of the tub, he snatched up a large, fluffy towel and wrapped her up in it, drying her quickly. She wriggled away from him, giggling, when he hit her ribs and he grinned, increasing his efforts.

"Hey! Stop it, or no more fun time for you tonight, pixie man!"

That was it. He grabbed her, carrying her into the bedroom and tossed her gently onto the bed. This time, he was_ really_ going to shut her up.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.**

_**- Part 11 -**_

DG squealed happily as she bounced on the bed before Cain's body moved to cover hers, the lower half of his body cradled comfortably between her thighs. He kissed her hard, once, before moving down to trail kisses along the length of her neck, across her collar bone and then, finally, traveling down the valley between her breasts.

DG practically purred as she ran her fingers through his short hair, her nails massaging his scalp as he continued his journey down her torso and over the concave plane of her stomach. His tongue darted into the indent of her belly button and she let out a laugh which turned into a strangled gasp when he slid further down and – using his fingers to part her folds – closed his mouth over her sensitive bud. He alternated between sucking at the bundle of nerves and flicking his tongue against it, every so often moving down to trace along the seam of her opening before returning to her clit.

Gritting her teeth, DG rose up on her elbows in order to look down the length of her body at him. When she tried to writhe under his ministration, Cain's other hand held her in place as he continued to feast quite eagerly.

"Oh, my God!" DG moaned when he did a particularly amazing trick with his tongue and fell back flat on the bed, her hands shooting down to clutch desperately at his head.

She felt him stop in order to rumble out a gruff order. "Don't," he growled against her sensitive flesh and she whimpered. "Don't think I'm going to let you go quiet now, DG. I want to hear you scream for me."

The sound of his coarse voice issuing such a curt demand was all it took to send DG over the edge. "Oh, Jesus _Fucking _Christ!" she screamed as her back arched sharply. She felt like she was flying and her hands shot out to clutch at his head, the bedding, anything to keep her grounded.

DG was still swimming in the haze of euphoria when Cain climbed back up her body, his arms hooking her legs as he went. He positioned himself at her opening, quickly plunging into her, deep and hard. She was instantly catapulted into another orgasm.

"W-wy-wyatt!" she cried out, unthinkingly using his first name for the first time ever and Cain growled in approval. He quickened his thrusts as DG clawed at his back.

He moved in her harder, spurred on by her frantic cries. He'd never thought his own name sounded as good as it did when she started to pant it out. It had been so long since he'd felt anything like this and her nails digging into his back was the only thing keeping him from completely losing himself inside of her. He hissed when she contracted around him, twisting his hips in response and dragging another moan from her.

Cain felt his body begin to tighten when she arched her back and bit his neck. He growled, moving one of his arms to reach up and tangle his fingers tightly in her hair in order to yank her head back. He kissed her hard, feeling her moan vibrate through his body. He began to move faster, wanting to hear her scream once more before this was over.

She fulfilled his wish a moment later when she tore her lips from his and screamed his name again, followed by a string of curses and an "Oh, yes!" that ended in a drawn out hiss as her body began to quake and her inner muscles contracted powerfully around him. That was all it took to finish him, with a growl of his own, Cain emptied himself deep within her.

"Great Gayle, girl," he panted in her ear as his body went limp over her. "Am I bleeding?"

DG laughed breathlessly. "Don't be a drama queen, Cain, you know you loved it." She panted against his shoulder before placing a kiss on the sweaty skin.

He moved off her just enough so she could breathe and nuzzled her neck affectionately. She tried to squirm out from under him more but he stopped her. "No you don't. This may be the only way I can keep you out of trouble."

DG smiled and snuggled into his side. "You just may be right."

Three days later, DG and her friends found themselves standing in front of her mother's overly-carved and decorated desk. It was quite imposing, to say the least, and she silently wondered if anyone would notice if she set the thing on fire. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and spotted a now-human Toto.

_**He'd**__ probably notice,'_ she thought as she scuffed her foot on the marble floor, pouting.

Glitch and Raw were fidgeting nervously behind her and Cain was standing, still as a statue, next to her; arms crossed over his chest, staring straight ahead. Toto simply huffed officiously a few steps away, refusing to associate himself with them. She started to fidget as her mother simply stared down at the tickets DG had thrust into her hands without speaking.

Her mother started to sort through the citations, her eyebrows rising in surprise. Ahamo leaned over her shoulder to see what had caused the normally-spirited group to go silent. He reached down, gently grabbing two of the tickets before straightening. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Those tickets were so totally unfair!" At her outburst, both her parents looked up. "Gulch has been out to get me for _years_! You steal the guy's car one time and he labels you for life!"

Her mother gazed back down at the tickets. "DG, these are rather serious charges. Destruction of private property, public indecency, assaulting an officer. Why did you assault Tin Man Gulch?"

"They're not all mine! He went after them too!" DG protested, pointing in the direction of the other three. Glitch had a 'Who, me?' expression on his face, while he pointed to himself; Raw looked all manner of embarrassed, while Cain simply rolled his eyes. "They didn't even do anything! Plus, we were having, like, a _really_ bad day."

Ahamo held up one of the tickets to the light. He started suddenly and moved his eyes, taking in the stoic Tin Man standing next to his daughter. Then, he started to laugh like a mad man.

Her mother reached up, taking the tickets back from him and reading them over.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed deeply. "I have to ask... What could have been so bad about your day that would make these-" she indicated the tickets. "-at all acceptable."

Cain grunted in protest, but it was too late. "Cain and I got turned into pixies!"

Her mother's jaw dropped open and Ahamo practically stopped breathing, as he was laughing so hard. He leaned against her mother's chair for support. "You were turned into pixies?"

DG jumped up and down, frustrated. "How could I even make that up?"

Her mother got a sneaky gleam in her eye. "But you're no longer pixies?"

DG snorted. "Well, obviously!"

"And exactly why is that, DG?"

DG froze. Her mother knew? _'Fuck all.'_

"Uhhhh... magical hedge maze?"

The queen smiled. "I see. Well, I do hope the 'magical hedge maze' was a gentleman."

DG smacked herself in the face and glanced at a badly-blushing Cain out of the corner of her eye.

"Are we done here?" Cain's voice asked levelly.

"Of course, Mister Cain. I shall see what I can do about these tickets. Why don't you all go and relax a bit. I believe you may have gotten a bit too much sun on your trip, you look a bit burned."

Cain's left eye twitched. "Thank you, your Majesty."

He exited the room with what dignity he had left. She just _had_ to open her mouth, didn't she? And here he'd thought he had gotten her to shut up at last. Maybe he just needed to get her alone again. Cain snuck a peek at DG as they fled down the hall. Yes, that seemed to be an excellent plan. As they turned the corner, he grabbed her, yanking her toward the nearest staircase. He was pretty sure her room was closer.

End

Author's Notes: Well, that's it folks. Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews. Jess and I appreciated all the wonderful responses to this fic.


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